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Tawny Lion Demon
The Tawny Lion Demon (in Chinese: 黃獅精) is a lion demon king and and an antagonist of the 16th-century Chinese classic novel Journey to the West by the late Wu Cheng'en, and its multiple adaptations. He is known for stealing the weapons of Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing. He was based in Tiger's Jaws Cave (in Chinese: 虎口洞), Leopard's Head Mountain (in Chinese: 豹頭山) in the Kingdom of Yuhua. In the 1986 classic adaptation series, he was portrayed by the series' martial arts director Xiang Han. Biography Origins The Tawny Lion Demon is one of the six lion demons near the Kingdom of Yuhua. When the Grand Saint of Nine Spirits (also known as the Nine Headed Lion) ascended to their location, they revered him as their god-grandfather. Though in the 1986 series, the King of Yuhua mentioned that the Tawny Lion Demon had assaulted the kingdom numberous times, in the novel it is made clear that he never knew him before the story takes place at all. Role On one night, he saw a light in the kingdom and came there to search for the source of the light, and discovered Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing's weapons. Overcome by greed, he stole them, and organized a banquet to celebrate it the next day. However, this proved to be the cause of his downfall: The owners of the weapons, disguised as his minions (and Sha Wujing as a duck owner), attacked his cave, burned it down to take back their weapons. Angered, the Lion came to ask his god-grandfather for help, which the Grand Saint of Nine Spirits agreed. He, along with the Tawny Lion, and the other five lion demons, attack the Kingdom of Yuhua, and successfully captured Xuanzang, Bajie, Wujing and the royal family of Yuhua. However, the Tawny Lion Demon was killed during the battle. His death is the catalyst for the rest of the conflict between the protagonists and the Nine Headed Lion. 1986 series In the 1986 series, when the Lion came to ask his god-grandfather for help, the latter refused as doing so might getting into even further trouble with Wukong, knowing the monkey to be the one who assaulted Heaven 500 years ago. The Tawny Lion went out of the Grand Saint of Nine Spirits' cave in disappointment, only to met Wukong, who laughed at him, much to the Lion's anger. The two fought, and Wukong managed to kill the Lion, which later served as the catalyst for the conflict between the protagonists and the Nine Headed Lion. There's no mention of the other five lion demons in this version. Powers and Abilities *'Four Clears Spade': The Tawny Lion Demon is armed with a Four Clears Spade (in Chinese: 四明鏟). *'Magical powers': The Tawny Lion Demon had used his magical powers to stole the protagonists' weapons, despite they're very heavy. Quotes Gallery NovelTawnyLionDemon.jpg|The Tawny Lion Demon in the novel. Trivia *The Tawny Lion Demon is probably the most controversial villain of the series, as he's hardly a villain at all and is more of an ignorant thief who is unaware of the consequence of his actions, even in the 1986 version where his villainy was toned up a bit. This often leads to many people to consider Wukong to be too cruel for killing a monster for such a minor offense, while those like the Golden Winged Great Peng who committed far worse crimes (even genocide) were easily forgiven due to the deities (and even the Buddha himself) told Wukong to do so. **It appears that he represents an ignorant person without political background at the time, and his fate symbolizing how without a political background to protect them, those people would be easily killed just for minor offenses, while people with political background would be protected by the authorities even if they committed far worse offenses. Navigation Category:Scapegoat Category:Thief Category:Homicidal Category:Vengeful Category:Book Villains Category:TV Show Villains Category:Live Action Villains Category:Fantasy Villains Category:Fighters Category:Deceased Category:Animals Category:Anthropomorphic Category:Posthumous Category:Successful Category:Right-Hand Category:Leader Category:Monarchs Category:Greedy Category:Sophisticated Category:Enigmatic Category:Protective Category:Magic Category:Paranormal Category:Male Category:Delusional Category:Affably Evil Category:Neutral Evil Category:Journey to the West Villains Category:Martial Artists Category:Tragic Category:Tyrants Category:Oppressors Category:Arrogant Category:Suicidal Category:Demon Category:Opportunists Category:Honorable